By The Diary desk · Last verified 11 October 2026
Tiong Bahru is one of Singapore’s loveliest short walks, and it costs nothing but breakfast. The estate was the Singapore Improvement Trust’s third and largest housing project, its flats designed by architect Alfred G. Church between 1936 and 1941 in a modified Streamline Moderne style, a late offshoot of Art Deco, with curved corners and long horizontal lines. In 2003 the URA gazetted 20 pre-war blocks for conservation. Start at Tiong Bahru Market (30 Seng Poh Road), with its wet market downstairs and an 83-unit hawker centre upstairs, then wander the low-rise blocks to find three heritage murals by Yip Yew Chong. Tiong Bahru MRT is about ten minutes’ walk away.
It is a small estate with a big personality: bakeries, bookshops and old-timers’ kopitiams side by side under curved balconies. Two hours is enough; a whole morning is better.
Quick facts
- Built: by the Singapore Improvement Trust; pre-war flats designed 1936–1941.
- Style: Streamline Moderne, a late form of Art Deco.
- Conservation: 20 pre-war blocks gazetted by the URA in 2003.
- Market: Tiong Bahru Market, 30 Seng Poh Road; wet market on the ground floor, hawker centre upstairs.
- Murals: three by Yip Yew Chong, at Blocks 71, 73 and 74.
- Getting there: Tiong Bahru MRT (East West Line), then walk east across Tiong Bahru Road.
The Art Deco estate: what to look for
The pre-war blocks are low-rise and rounded, quite unlike the tall HDB towers around them. Look up for:
- Curved corners where blocks meet street junctions, the hallmark of Streamline Moderne.
- Bands of windows and horizontal lines that make the blocks look longer and lower.
- Patterned, unpainted facing bricks on some balconies, visible at Blocks 57, 76 and 82.
- Back lanes and open staircases between the blocks, which still give the estate its village feel.
These are homes, many still owned and lived in. Keep voices low and do not climb the staircases for photos.
Tiong Bahru Market: how it works
| Floor | What’s there | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Ground floor | Wet market with more than 250 market and retail stalls: fish, meat, vegetables, flowers | Go before 10am for the liveliest trading |
| Second floor | Hawker centre with 83 food units and more than 1,400 seats | Breakfast classics include chwee kueh and char siew pau |
Stalls that people queue for include Jian Bo Shui Kueh for steamed rice cakes with preserved radish and Tiong Bahru Pau for buns, named factually rather than as recommendations. Stall hours vary and many sell out by lunch. Like every NEA hawker centre, the market closes for a day or two of cleaning from time to time, so check the published closure list first.
The murals: where to find them
Artist Yip Yew Chong painted scenes of everyday life from the estate’s past. Locations as listed by Time Out Singapore:
| Mural | Location | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Pasar and the Fortune Teller | Block 73, Eng Watt Street | An old market scene with a fortune teller |
| Bird Singing Corner | Block 71, Seng Poh Lane | Bird lovers gathering with their cages |
| Home | Block 74, between Tiong Poh Road and Eu Chin Street | The inside of an old Tiong Bahru home |
Street art in Singapore is sometimes painted over or restored, so a mural may look different, or be gone, when you arrive.
A two-hour route
- Tiong Bahru MRT. Walk east across Tiong Bahru Road into the estate.
- Tiong Bahru Market. Breakfast upstairs, then a look round the wet market.
- Block 71, Seng Poh Lane. Bird Singing Corner is a short walk from the market.
- Block 73, Eng Watt Street. Pasar and the Fortune Teller.
- Block 74. Home, between Tiong Poh Road and Eu Chin Street.
- The pre-war blocks. Loop the streets around Eng Hoon Street, Moh Guan Terrace and Yong Siak Street for the curved corners and cafes.
The WahLiao Verdict
Arrive by 8.30am, eat breakfast at the market before the queues build, and walk the murals while the light is soft. Tiong Bahru is best seen slowly and early, and it asks only that you remember people live here. For less than a cafe brunch, you get a chapter of Singapore’s early public housing told in curves and brick.
Questions people ask
Why is Tiong Bahru called Art Deco?
Its pre-war flats use Streamline Moderne, a late form of Art Deco, with curved corners and strong horizontal lines.
Who built Tiong Bahru?
The Singapore Improvement Trust, the colonial-era body that came before the HDB. Architect Alfred G. Church designed the flats.
When is Tiong Bahru Market open?
The building opens early and late, but each stall sets its own hours. Breakfast stalls are busiest before 10am.
Are the Tiong Bahru murals still there?
They were listed at Blocks 71, 73 and 74 as of October 2026, but murals can be repainted, so expect changes.
Sources: National Heritage Board Roots, the architecture of Tiong Bahru; Time Out Singapore, Tiong Bahru Market layout and mural locations. The Diary explains; it does not advise.
Read next: What Was Tiong Bahru Before Tiong Bahru? · Hainanese Curry Rice Explained: The Gravy, the Pork Chop and How to Order · Back to The Diary
For what’s worth it this week, with the bill shown, read The WahLiao Week.
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